Editor’s Note: A previous version of this post has been one of the CFI blog’s all-time most popular posts. We thought we’d update it with a few more books, and put it front and center once more for readers who might be stocking their bookshelves.

From time to time, we are asked what our go-to books are for understanding financial inclusion and the financial lives of the poor. If we were to list the top three classics that should be on everyone’s shelves, we would recommend the following (feel free to put these on your gift list as we approach the holidays):

What we love about these titles is the insight they provide into the client perspective, a foundational element for anyone working in or supporting financial services. If financial institutions approach their engagement with customers armed with an understanding of customer needs and customer behavior, the financial services industry can be both more responsive and more responsible.

As a refresher, the first five books on the last version of our must-read list were those cited by Stuart Rutherford as his top five on the subject of “The Poor and Their Money”. Rutherford has himself published some of today’s go-to references on this topic (which is why we added his titles above). Rutherford’s favorite books were chosen by him not only for their impact on his work, but also for their ability to place the client at the center of our conceptualization of microfinance. This is important because, as Rutherford himself explains, “microfinance has to find a way to adapt itself to the enormous complexity found in the lives of poor people, and not the other way around.” We continue to appreciate this sentiment, and still think the titles on his list are worth a read:

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Credit Suisse is a founding sponsor of the Center for Financial Inclusion. The Credit Suisse Group Foundation looks to its philanthropic partners to foster research, innovation and constructive dialogue in order to spread best practices and develop new solutions for financial inclusion.

Note

The views and opinions expressed on this blog, except where otherwise noted, are those of the authors and guest bloggers and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Center for Financial Inclusion or its affiliates.

1 comment

There is a recent book inspired by three documents released by the financial establishment, respectively, CGAP, Basel III and 2030 Agenda SDGs; The book title iS FINANCIAL INCLUSION, Give people a job not a loan:https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/id1116912686